JACANAS,-- : . 503 



may often be seen flying together over a marsh ; while these birds may often be 

 flushed in crowds from one spot, where they must have been feeding in close 

 proximity. They are never found away from covert, although on rare occasions the 

 common species has been observed perching on a tree ; and they never settle where 

 the water is deep enough to wet the feathers of the breast. At ordinary seasons a 

 very silent bird, when breeding, the common snipe utters a peculiar two-syllabled 

 note, compared to tyik-tyvJc, of which the utterance is accompanied by a nodding 

 of the head. Moreover, the males at the same season indulge in the peculiar per- 

 formance known as " drumming," during which they may be seen flying diagonally 

 upwards or round and round in large circles, and then suddenly swooping down 

 with vibrating half -closed wings and outspread tail ; the " drumming," which has 

 been compared to the bleating of a goat, being only produced during the descent. 



In Britain newly laid eggs of the common snipe may be found from the 

 middle of April till the middle of May ; the nest being a hollow, lined with dried 

 grass, usually placed in the middle of a tussock of rushes or coarse grass in a 

 swamp, or under the protecting shelter of the same. The four eggs are somewhat 

 variable in hue, the ground-colour being some shade of buff" or olive, upon which 

 are large blotches of rich, dark brown, with large underlying markings of lighter 

 brown and grey. The main duty of incubation is performed by the hen-bird ; and 

 but a single brood is produced during the year. In the Arctic regions the eggs, 

 like those of the jack-snipe, are not laid till June. 



Jacanas and Water-Pheasants. 



Family Parrid^. 



Mainly from the circumstance that many of them have a naked shield on the 

 forehead, like that of the coots and moor-hens, the members of the present small 

 family were formerly classed with the rails, although their true position appears to 

 be here. From the Charadriidm they are distinguished by the presence of un- 

 ossified vacuities in the occipital surface of the skull ; while they differ from all 

 other birds in the extraordinary elongation of their toes. They are handsomely 

 coloured birds, black, or black-and-white, being the predominating tints ; but the 

 young are less brilliant than the adults. The group is confined to South America, 

 Africa South of the Tropic of Cancer, the Indian region, Australia, and Papua. 



The jacanas (Parra), of which there are ten species, have a dis- 

 tribution coextensive with that of the family; and although their 

 fossil remains have not been discovered, it is probable that they lived in Europe 

 during the Tertiary period, and have reached their present habitat by a southerly 

 migration. The species here figured (P. nigra) is an inhabitant of Brazil. They 

 are long-legged, slenderly-built birds, with short tails, spurs on the wings, and the 

 aforesaid shield on the head. Insectivorous in their diet, they frequent lakes and 

 quiet rivers, where their long toes enable them to walk over the leaves of the water- 

 lilies. The nest is a rude structure, built near the edge of the water; and the eggs, 

 which vary from four to six in number, and have a bluish green ground with liver- 

 coloured spots, often rest on the bare soil. 



